On the Trials of Sanity
by Mikeala-and-Whitney
Summary: All Madeline wanted was a job, just something to get her through the summer, what she didn't intend on happening was to get a job offer at Arkham Asylum
1. Introductions

**{A/N: I own none of Batman, only my ocs; hope you enjoy and reviews are gladly welcomed*}**

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`Yes, one could think that this was a stupid choice, that maybe she should have just worked at that diner down the street or something. But no, Madeline decided to take up that job offer of working at Arkham Asylum. Because that's smart. At least that's how she saw it, it did pay well usually and she would meet new people. Ha. That would probably make her sister laugh at her, but Madeline didn't really care about that. She was too much interested in what she'd learn on her first day at work, which was today. Yeah. She picked Arkham Asylum, where everyone was nearly mad or starting to go that way. But she didn't mind, as said, she was too much distracted and excited.

Madeline walked down the hall-way, looking from the right to the left, making sure she saw nearly everything that was around her, only slightly hearing what Dr. Steele was telling her, that buzzing noise coming into view as she then snapped her gaze to Steele when he cleared his throat as if to get her to pay attention

"**Have you been listening to me at all, Madeline?"** He asked, still holding his clip-board in his right hand, his glasses had slid down his nose a bit but he was ignoring, and quirked an eyebrow

She nodded quickly, now she wasn't just excited but also nervous **"Yes, of course I have, Dr. Steele."**

He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket before looking at her again **"I have no idea how your aunt talked me into this but I agreed to talk to Dr. Arkham, and now you have a job here. Please, at least pretend to be listening to me." **

"**I'm sorry, it won't happen again."** She whispered, then that perky smile spread over her lips and she tucked her hair behind her ears **"So, what else do you have to tell me now?" **

He smiled, as if amused a bit then slid his glasses back on, looking at his clip-board, and turned to look down the hall-way before looking back at her again **"Let me show you the cafeteria, how about that?"** He then turned an walked down the hall-way, Madeline quickly ran up until she was beside him, she looked confused

"**The cafeteria?"** She asked then **"Why would I have to see that?"**

"**You never know, you might just have to be in there at one point."** He told her, not even glancing over as he opened up the left door, holding it open for Madeline, who quickly skipped through and then he walked in, shutting the door close behind him as he took a few steps forward, turning a corner with Madeline following after him of course

The walls here had wall paper on them that looked a bit old, and some of the wall-paper seemed to be gone in a few places as if someone had ripped some of it off. And it was cold, but it seemed to be always cold there. As they walked, at one point beside them there was a large fan that blew slowly, and probably helped along side with that coldness in the building. Madeline shivered but didn't say anything; she just kept walking along side Dr. Steele. They passed a few other inmates rooms, there were names labeled on the front of the metal doors, one of them didn't say anything which made her shiver, wondering who was in there but didn't give it a second glance, she just continued on walking.

"**This is a place of structure, but there is a nice…well, subtle touch to it as well." **

She looked at him then, again with that confused expression. Subtle? This place was subtle? She looked away then, glancing at the walls and the floor, which looked like a checker board or something, but had dry dirt over near one of the corners of the wall and what looked to be water only so far away but then she looked back at Dr. Steele as she heard him talk again

"**Don't let yourself be fooled by this place though, even with what I've said, this isn't the best place in Gotham of course. There are people here for a reason, Madeline, so don't let them trick you or tell you lies, just ignore some of them and the rest, just watch yourself around them."**

"**I'll be fine." **Madeline told him, a small smile still set upon her lips

"**You say that now but, I've seen even non-patients here change, their personality and looks even twisting because of particular patients, like the Joker."** He said then and she glanced to the side, before looking back, trying to hide her slight blush

"**But isn't he locked up?"** She suddenly asked then, blurting it out before she could stop herself

"**Yes, but he's escaped before so it's possible you'll see him around every so often. Just don't go around him, okay?"** Dr. Steele looked at her then, a worried expression on his face now

Madeline nodded then **"Alright, I won't."** She wasn't too sure though, even though she had heard the stories, the Joker still made her interested, maybe she was too curious like her Aunt had said but still it made her blush. Steele looked away then, nodding and looked back at his clip-board then opened up one of the doors to the cafeteria, letting Madeline walk in first then he went in as well, the door shutting close behind him. They walked over to the center of the cafeteria then, in between two tables and he looked over at her then

"**This is the cafeteria, where most patients come in to eat of course, while others have to remain in their rooms for whatever reason. It's rather large as you can see, and oddly cold, just like the rest of this place. But it is nice, and usually calm yet there are those days of messes and accidents."**

She looked at him then, this time she had a worried expression when he said accidents, wondering what exactly he meant by that but didn't ask. The room itself was large as said, and the ceiling was way up, and there were a few other doors around and of course the two doors they entered the room from. The walls though looked nice, and the floor was clean, but the room still had that odd feeling to it, that just made her want to shiver as she looked around at all the tables there, then back at Steele

"**It looks really nice." **Madeline told him, sounding excited again and still nervous though

He nodded, tucking his clip-board under his left arm and smiled **"Yes, it does, doesn't it? At least one place in Arkham looks that way."** He sighed then, taking off his glasses and slid them into his pocket before looking back at her **"Is there anything else you'd like to know before starting work?"**

She simply shrugged; a smile still plastered on her face as she looked around once again then looked back at him **"What else is there to tell me?"**

A smirk spread across his lips then **"Aside from that most people who work here turn nocturnal, just don't eat the cafeteria food. Trust me on that."** He nodded, as if completely amused by this now

"**Alright."** She nodded with a slight giggle, a smile still there on her face **"Anything else?" **

"**Not much really, unless you have something you want to tell me." **He glanced to the far-left for a moment before looking back at her

She shook her head once **"Nope."** Madeline then glanced over to the far-right before slowly looking back **"But I am really excited about my new job though, I'm sure it'll be fun."** She giggled nervously

"**Ah, that's nice."** He nodded then there was a slight noise behind him, and he glanced back over his shoulder, sighing but then smiled again **"Dr. Arkham, how wonderful of you to join us. I was just showing Madeline around before she starts her new job today."**

"**Well, that's awfully nice of you to do. But, it seems that they need you in intensive care, one of your patients is asking for you as he scares the nurses." **

Steele nodded, looking back at Madeline **"Excuse me."** Then he quickly walked over to the two doors and left the room, the doors shutting behind him as he was then out of view

Dr. Arkham looked over at Madeline then with a small amused smile **"Are you excited about your new job here at Arkham?"** He asked then

She nodded, that smile still in place of course **"Yes, I'm very excited about it."** She heard him chuckle then, almost laughing and nodded once

"**That's good then."** He looked at his clip-board that was in his left hand before looking back at her, his grin still set upon his lips **"Because the Joker is first on your list today." **

Her smile slowly faded then as she looked at him in confusion and worry **"What?"** She squeaked out then

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	2. First on the List

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`It was still cold in Arkham of course, and Madeline stood there, frozen almost in place, as she stared into the room. Yes, there were other people but she felt alone at the moment. But there were people chattering and asking questions, as if he wasn't even in the room. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable but then she felt herself being slowly pushed forward, then noticed it was Dr. Arkham who was behind her.

"**Go on now."** He urged her gently to go inside the room, almost in an annoyed way as well

"**Me?" **She asked as if not understanding, that nervous expression still in place. She was still excited of course but to remember that she was the one who had to go on in there made her a bit jumpy, and worried almost. Her hands were shaking a bit but then she quickly re-tucked her hair behind her ears like usual when nervous or worried

"**Yes."** He nodded, then she stumbled into the room, slowly looking over at the man who was on the cot-like bed, it was the Joker. She was only a few inches from him now, and everyone else in the room was now leaving the room quickly. Madeline looked back at the door-way then, seeing Dr. Arkham standing there

"**All you have to do is remove the make-up and make sure he's okay, then come back outside."** He told her, taking a step backwards then out-side of the room, slowly shutting the door

"**Dr. Arkham?"** She blurted out then, almost worried that he wouldn't answer for a moment there

"**Don't worry, we'll be right out-side."** He told her then it was quiet again, which just added more onto her already being nervous. How wonderful. She sighed softly, wiping at her face once then glanced once back over her should at the door. She felt like she was the patient at Arkham now, as if they wouldn't let her back out, and that scared her a bit but she tried to stay calm. She was working in Arkham Asylum, so of course she was going to be like this for a while but she'd get use to it, right? Yeah. It was only a summer job anyway, and then she'd be away from this place and back in down-town Gotham city again.

Madeline slowly looked back at the still sedated person on the bed, her breath even trembling. It was still exciting for her though, the Joker, a man who she had only heard stories of and now she was only a few inches away from him. He was asleep but she felt like if she took a step forward, that he'd wake up. She walked over then, staring at him for a moment, slowly reaching forward with a shaking hand, her finger-tips brushing against his warm cheek, then barely touching the scars as she quickly then yanked her hand back.

"**Sorry."** She walked over to where the bowl of water and cloth was, glancing only once back at him then looked around as if expecting Dr. Arkham to be there, then let her hand knock over to the bowl, the water spilling onto the floor. She snapped her gaze back over to the door, wondering if anyone heard that then sighed in relief as nothing happened really. Then she froze in spot again, as she saw the Joker stir a bit, shifting his weight then was calm again. Madeline sighed in relief once again as she slowly walked back over to him, glancing at the door for a moment before looking away.

"**Okay, maybe that wasn't an accident. But I'm not going to do this, no."** She felt like she was talking to herself, even though she was looking over at the Joker, she sighed then again in slight annoyance with herself **"Just calm down, Madeline."** Great. Now she was talking to herself, but she knew she had to stay calm. What if she woke him up or something? But still this actually in an odd way felt a bit nice, almost dulling the feeling of being uncomfortable as well.

He looked so calm, and that confused her a bit. With all the stories she had heard, to see this made her feel even more excited than before. She felt so childish though being this way, like she was in a candy-store or something. He seemed so different from what she had been told but then again, he was taking a nap now so he was probably different when awake and for some reason she wanted to see him smile, which made her confused and in utter awe at herself.

Madeline reached forward though, touching his cheek again, then slowly let her fingers move to the scars, letting one finger brush against it then she felt tingles in her hands as she pulled them away. Madeline sighed as she looked over at the door then back at him, gently smoothing back his hair with her right hand. Then she nearly jumped as he moved again, turning on his side but was still asleep, staring at him wide eyed her breathing trembled again. Her hands still felt tingly, like tiny little zaps going through out them. It actually felt nice, and she liked it.

She bit her lower lip for a moment, nervously twiddling her thumbs for a moment then stood back up, looking over at the door again before looking back at him then looked around the room. It wasn't the best room, not like they had a real best room there in the first place; at least she didn't think so. But it was cold and dull, just being in the room made her uncomfortable. She felt her cheeks become warm, knowing that she was blushing now. She felt like she didn't have the right to remove the make-up though, it was what made him who he was. And the fact that Dr. Arkham had made her come in here, first day here at work too, made her think maybe he wasn't all there himself but she wasn't going to say anything.

Madeline turned then, walking back over to the door and knocked on it once, and someone opened it. She then quickly walked out then, hearing the door shut then and she looked over at Dr. Arkham, noticing that Dr. Steele was right beside him. Both of them holding their clip-boards, and staring at her in confusion and curiosity. She shrugged slowly then looked worried again **"The bowl fell by accident and the water spilled out, and…I—I'm sorry." **She tried to explain, seeing that Dr. Steele quirked an eyebrow but then Dr. Arkham nodded as if understanding

"**That's all right but we'll just have to wait till later then, you have another patient on your list." **He sighed as if a bit annoyed again but then smiled **"This way, Madeline."** He nodded, guiding her away from everyone and down the hall-way. She glanced back over her shoulder, looking at Dr. Steele for a moment before looking away again

Madeline was still nervous though of course, wondering if Dr. Steele would say something, knowing that he hadn't really believed her, or maybe he did and she was just panicking over nothing. She still felt uncomfortable though, excited but uncomfortable and she wished she had brought her jacket to this place.

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End file.
